Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Recognizes Master Gardners Efforts

An educational garden extraordinaire! This garden is the perfect location for a field trip for those anxious to learn about horticulture. There are displays of sun, shade, perennial, butterfly and pollinator gardens. So many varieties all beautifully labeled. Those well placed labels quickly resolved identification disputes. This Penn State Master Gardener Demonstration Garden provides a blast of color in an ocean of cold hard architecture.

That’s how the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) described the gardens at Neshaminy Manor Center at the awards ceremony earlier this month at PHS headquarters in Philadelphia. We were one of about 75 gardens recognized in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey this year with the Community Greening Award. While Master Gardener coordinator Sue Schneck and I accepted the award, we both know that it is the hard work of dozens of volunteers who make it happen. The design, installation and management of these gardens is done by an outstanding crew of dedicated volunteers. Recently, we cleaned up dead summer foliage and planted pansies, so the gardens continue to look good. PHS folks must have missed it but our mini arboretum is part of our educational efforts and is functional all year long.
What is PHS? Just one of the oldest and most active horticulture societies in the U.S. Most folks know the Philadelphia Flower Show and sure enough, PHS puts on this popular event. But did you know that the proceeds from the Flower Show go to community greening efforts? Did you know that PHS has one of the finest horticultural libraries around? I spent an hour of so browsing the collection. Fantastic! They sponsor great lectures and other educational events. Check out PHS and consider becoming a member.